Zaveri Bazaar: After a few hours of manic rush, business has been muted in India’s largest bullion market

Jewellers in Zaveri Bazaar are said to have made a handsome profit in those few hours, with some selling the metal at a 50% premium to that day’s price of around Rs 31,000 per 10 gram.Inside the jewellery stores on the chaotic lanes of Zaveri Bazaar in south Mumbai, there are more employees than customers. It has been nearly two days since the demonetisation announcement on November 8.

“There was a rush after the announcement. The number of customers went up almost 100 per cent. Some wanted to buy under Rs 2 lakh,” says Nishant Tulsiani, whose family owns Dwarkadas Chandumal Jewellers.

Anyone buying jewellery worth more than Rs 2 lakh has to furnish her permanent account number. Less than a third of transactions at Dwarkadas are through credit and debit cards, and 15% through cheques, with the rest in cash.

Zaveri Bazaar, India’s largest bullion market, accounts for nearly 40% of the country’s gold trade and houses hundreds of shops.

Dwarkadas was open till around 11 pm on November 8, as people rushed to buy gold with their Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

Jewellers in Zaveri Bazaar are said to have made a handsome profit in those few hours, with some selling the metal at a 50% premium to that day’s price of around Rs 31,000 per 10 gram. Ketan Shroff, joint secretary of the Indian Bullion and Jewellers Association, says they could only have sold what their stock allowed.

“What’s the harm in making some money? There’s going to be no business in the next six months.” While he supports the government’s move, he wishes the government had done it in a phased manner. After the panic-driven euphoria of that evening, business has been muted. “It was just picking up after Diwali, but now only those who have to purchase for weddings will buy because they don’t have an option,” says Tulisani.

With the dust yet to settle after the government’s surprise move, the near future does not look bright for jewellers.